Toledo unites for sport

With a two-for-one solution, the Toledo City Council resolved the II Sports Merit Gala, held on Tuesday afternoon at the El Greco Conference Center. The pandemic forced the postponement of last year, so the best athletes of 2019 and 2020 paraded on the stage. A total of 75 awardees who joined for the same purpose: to have led their city to a national, international or international podium. two things.

The conductors of the event, which started after 6:00 p.m., were journalists from Castilla-La Mancha Media Juli Rubio and Jesús Calderón. They received everyone present after the initial performance of the Trinidad Giles dance school and, to the rhythm of the chords of the Manchelos trio, the awards for the best athletes of 2019 began with speed.

Athletes of the stature of Lucas Búa and Irene Sánchez-Escribano went up to collect their prize. Also the badminton players Claudia and Álvaro Leal, as well as countless karate players who that year managed to place themselves in the top positions of the Spanish Championship, such as María Espinosa, Daniel Martín, Rodrigo García de Blas and Irene Moreno.

The gala was held at the El Greco Conference Center – Photo: David PérezIn swimming, we must highlight the presence of the World Cup Iris Agudo, gold and bronze in Brisbane with the Spanish team, or Jaime Marqués World Master champion in open water. Nor were there any shortages in orientation and rescue and first aid.

And as sports clubs, the San Ildefonso Athletics Club, Fencing Toledo, Moprisala, Ciudad de Nara, Realidad Toledo, CD Kidokan, CD Down Toledo, Monteverde and CD Aspaym received their recognition.

Irene Sánchez-Escribano was in charge of speaking on behalf of everyone and, as she acknowledged, it is to feel “proud for doing what we like and that our society recognizes it.” In addition, he hoped that in the next one a more natural celebration would be possible, synonymous with the fact that the pandemic will have ended.

The gala was held at the El Greco Conference Center – Photo: David PérezDuring the intermission, the public enjoyed an exhibition by the Club Venus girls, a prelude to the 2020 awards, somewhat smaller and with some repeaters compared to the previous year. Last year the presence of the Spanish team and FC Barcelona goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas stood out, as well as the city’s first medalist in the Olympic Games, with the bronze won in Tokyo. The man from Toledo acknowledged that they are “a benchmark for society” and that, for this reason, they should congratulate themselves: “We are the best transmitters of all the values ​​that sport has.”

Next, the champion of Spain, the World and Europe, Isabel Fernández, also awarded, performed one of her katas on stage. But his applause fell short with that of the friends and family of Joaquín Garrido, teacher of the Toledo Fencing Club, who received a posthumous tribute.

The final stretch featured the four Honorable Mentions awarded: Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas; the Spanish Paralympic Committee; former soccer player Milinko Pantic; and Javier Lozano. The president of the LNFS improvised a speech in which he advised all the winners to enjoy “because sport is a school of life and helps to overcome limits.”

The gala was held at the El Greco Conference Center – Photo: David PérezAnd with the traditional family photo, this II Toledo Sports Merit Gala closed, which displayed the wide catalog of competitors that the city has: varied and of quality.

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